Friday, January 11, 2013

Quilts In Everyday Life

I bought this book for myself before Christmas, I like to say my dog Roxy shops for me! She has such good taste.

"Quilts In Everyday Life, 1855-1955"
A 100 Year Photographic History
By Janet Finley

Schiffer Publishing ISBN 978-0-7643-4216-5

As I read the book I started thinking of all the people I knew that would enjoy the book - it's not just for those of us interested in quilt history.

I purchased additional copies as gifts. It is a great book for the study of social customs, period dress and home furnishings - even house plants. Anyone who loves photography also needs this book.

Used with permission from the author
Lydia Clapp b. 1817
This is my picture of a picture in the book

Janet selected 325 pictures from her collection, the earliest dated 1855. She researched each photo in detail. As she demonstrates, every picture tells a story, and what a beautiful group of stories!

Since the book is based in real life, it covers birth and death with so many events in between, all with a quilt in the photo.
Roller skating in a dress made like a crazy quilt? <vbg>
Dog included in family picnic on a quilt
Clothes lines filled with laundry - including quilts

Check your local bookstore, quilt shop or book outlet and if you can't find the book you can order directly from Schiffer along with other quilt related titles! You might need more than one...

In an age when we take photos for granted, I wonder how many of us have been photographed with our quilts? Making our quilts? Is it important to have pictures of yourself with your quilts and/or sewing?

36 comments:

Oh, this looks like such a fun book. I love vintage photos--when I was a re-enactor at a local heritage center I bought myself a copy of "Dressed for the Photographer". Huge book filled with photos of vintage photo portraits. I love it. This looks like something of a similar nature, only quilt related. It is going on my wish list!

That looks like a wonderful book. I think that enough photos aren't taken of us and our accomplishments. I suppose too, I get worried about the digital age and things stored on computers. Computers crash and then where are the pictures? I love looking at vintage photos and what is especially nice is that author researched each photo. I have so many photos back to the mid-1800's and haven't a clue as to who the people were (relatives, obviously) or anything about their lives.

It's sad to say, but I don't think I've ever been photographed with my quilts or making one and I've been a quilter for over 15 years. I think I'll have to remedy that. This book looks fabulous. I love anything with the history of quilting, and the vintage photos are always inspiring. Thanks for sharing.

Looks like a good book! I can honestly say I don't know that I have ANY pictures of myself quilting! And it is such an important part of my life! I will have to work on that!! Thanks for the important reminder!!

A few years back I borrowed some books of a friend. They were full of photos of old quilts, and patterns to reproduce them. I was in love. I have always been interested in history, especially the female side of it. And I have learned so much more from my quilt history books. This book is on my wish-list.

Looks like a lovely book. I never thought about taking pictures with my quilts. Good idea.I do have a picture that I cherish of my grandmother at 98 hand quilting a quilt. She hand pieced and hand quilted until her death at 100.

The book looks and sounds fantastic. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, it's now on my "to buy" list. :) What a great idea, to have a picture taken while we're working on a quilt. If a quilter lives alone, she can have pictures taken when attending quilt retreats or camps, she's bound to be working on a quilt there. Thanks.

There seem to be a fair amount of photos of me at my quilting frame they are all taken by my husband. The quilts since they are in the frame are not done. When we had a service for a friend we had all her quilts hung in the funeral home around her. That I wish I had taken photos. The quilts were all over the funeral home and it was perfect.

And I'm often the one taking the pics, so I am rarely in them! I always hate the way I look in pictures, but now I wish I had more of me from younger years. I rarely have me in a pic with my quilts, though.....and I think I need to make an effort to do that now. Imagine having a family heirloom quilt, with a picture of your ancestor making it! I guess we owe that to our future generations, especially since we're expecting them to keep our quilts! lol

Vintage photos are so captivating and ones with quilts are especially so. Thank you for posting about this book - I was unaware of it. It will go on my "wish list" and, like you, my dog will probably purchase it for me. :)

thank you for suggesting this book to your followers. I love to look at the old family pictures, how they often were photographed with a quilt hanging in the background or hanging over the railing on the porch, or strangely, like one I have of my grandfather, kids sitting on horses! I just love it. I take photos of my quilts, but they're usually just hanging or sometimes laying on the ground, shot by me hanging out of the 2nd story window! I'm going to try taking some family pics with quilts in them. I'll be looking for this book this weekend. Thanks

Quilting is in my blood. I have quilts made by my great grandmother and great great grandmother. How I would love to have pictures of them working on these quilts together with my mother playing under the frame. you have given us an important message. Thank You!

I had a book that was purchased in the Smokey Mtn. National Park about Appalachian quilters. Book was borrowed and never returned. The stories about the people were so interesting. Their hard lives and the style of quilts they made. And how many.

This book sounds fabulous. I've been a quilter since 1962 when my grandmother sent me a top that my mother had made for a baby brother. She never finished it, so I did for her and for the son I was expecting at the time. Thanks for telling us about this book.

This book sounds fabulous. I've been a quilter since 1962 when I was expecting our fifth child, a son. My grandmother sent me a crib top that my mother had done for my baby brother and had never finished. I did for ours and have been quilting ever since. Thanks for telling us about this book.

Thank you for this lovely posting - I have added the book to my list of 'books to buy in 2013". And I like to photograph my kids, at various ages, asleep under whatever quilt I'm quilting at the moment - makes for very sentimental documentation :-) Cheers, Ady

Your questions at the end of your post sent a chill through me. I have lots of pictures of my projects but probably NONE of me sewing them. Its so hard to get pictures of ourselves doing anything, let alone something as mundane as sewing. I love it when someone says something or asks something so profound and makes me stop in my tracks! BTW, I look forward to your postings, often so thought provoking.

This looks like a great book - I am adding it to my "wish list". I love old pictures - it always breaks my heart when I see them for sale at auctions and in antique stores. I can't imagine that family members didn't want them.

This looks like a wonderful book. I am always on the lookout for vintage photos with quilts in them and have been lucky to find a few. They are not easy to find, so it would be great to have a whole book of them.

Thank you for bringing this book to your reader's attention. Sounds like a great book to buy and study. I just wish bookshops in Australia imported more patchwork & quilting books, so we could look before buying. Buying online is at times difficult as one does not get to see all the patterns or photos that are inside a book, when it is listed on a website.

that does look like a great book~!i'm putting it onto my wish list immediately.

your question about photographing the maker(s) of a quilt with the quilt has prompted me to think about something i hadn't before but i do think it's probably a good idea. after all we often document our quilts in other ways that we feel are important; labels, photos of the quilts by themselves, etc.today it is even possible to place a photo of a quilt being worked on by it's maker and then transferring that onto the label~!

I have really enjoyed looking through your blog. I am fascinated how women made such beautiful quilts all these years go. I have ordered this book and know I am going to find it fascinating. Thank you, Ann

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